Patients are often anesthetized before receiving medical treatment. For example, patients are anesthetized before surgery, using either a local anesthetic or a general anesthetic, especially for major operations.
Anesthesiologists typically monitor bodily functions to determine whether a patient is properly anesthetized for the procedure that the patient is to receive. For example, the anesthesiologist may monitor the patient's blood pressure, heart rate, amount of sweating, and/or pupil size to determine whether the patient is sufficiently anesthetized for the procedure at hand, while not being too heavily anesthetized. If the anesthesiologist is mistaken about whether the patient is appropriately anesthetized, e.g., if the patient is insufficiently anesthetized for the current procedure, then several undesirable consequences may result. The patient's bodily functions may jump (e.g., blood pressure and heart rate increase) and/or other reactions may occur such as the patient's muscles contracting that may cause the patient to move. This latter consequence may be especially undesirable if the patient is being incised at the time. Further, if not properly anesthetized, the patient may even wake up, potentially making for a particularly frightening if not painful experience for the patient.